1. Field of the Invention
In general, the present invention relates to devices and methods of separating individual segments of hair from a head of hair prior to a highlighting dyeing procedure. More particularly, the present invention relates to hand held tools that are used to engage and separate segments of hair to be dyed.
2. Description of the Prior Art
Each year there are thousands of people who have their hair highlighted. In a highlighting procedure, segments of hair are separated from the head of hair at various points around the head. These separated segments are then dyed. The result is a head of hair where only some of the hairs are dyed. Thus, the head of hair is highlighted with the color of the dyed hair even though most of the hair has not been dyed.
Different hair stylists dye hair in different ways. Some stylists separate the segments of hair to be dyed by hand. However, unless the hair stylist is very well trained, it is difficult to evenly separate segments of hair symmetrically around the head. If even segments of hair are not separated symmetrically around a person's head, the highlighting will be uneven and the hair in one section of the person's head may appear a different shade than the hair in other sections. A person may then have a hair style that gives an unnatural appearance.
One of the most common ways to ensure that segments of hair are evenly separated for a highlighting procedure is for a hair stylist to use a highlighting grid and a pick. A highlighting grid is a transparent hood that can be placed over the head of a person whose hair is to be highlighted. The hood is made of a thin plastic that is easily punctured. A symmetrical grid of blocks is printed on the hood. The blocks can be anywhere from 1/4 inch square to 1 inch square, depending upon the type of highlighting procedure to be performed. After the highlighting grid is placed over a patron's head, a pick is used to puncture the highlighting grid in each of the blocks. The pick has a hook at one end. Once the pick is punctured through the highlighting grid, the hook engages a small segment of hair below the highlighting grid. As the pick is pulled back up through the highlighting grid, the hook at the end of the pick pulls a segment of hair back up through the highlighting grid. The size of the hook determines how much hair is pulled through the highlighting grid. The larger the hook, the more hair is pulled through the highlighting grid.
By using the highlighting grid and the pick, a hair stylist can symmetrically expose nearly identical segments of hair across a person's head. The segments of hair are also isolated from the remaining hair of the head by the presence of the highlighting grid. The separated segments of hair are therefore readily dyed.
A disadvantage of prior art highlighting grid and pick systems is that it takes a great deal of time and labor for a hair stylist to puncture the dozens of blocks on the highlighting grid with a pick and extract the proper amount of hair through the highlighting grid with the pick. Since the cost of a highlighting service is directly proportional to the hair stylist's time, the use of a prior art highlighting grid adds significantly to the cost of the service.
A need therefore exists in the art for a device and method for pulling hair through a highlighting grid that is faster and more efficient than prior art picks. This need is provided for by the present invention as set forth in the below description and claims.